The Punisher
Marvel's The Punisher, or simply The Punisher, is an American web television series created for Netflix by Steve Lightfoot, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise, and is a spin-off of Marvel's Daredevil. The series is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Bohemian Risk Productions, with Lightfoot serving as showrunner. Plot After the murder of his family, Marine veteran Frank Castle becomes the vigilante known as "The Punisher," with only one goal in mind: to avenge them. Cast and Characters Main * Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher: A vigilante who aims to fight the criminal underworld by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results.34 Daredevil season one showrunner Steven S. DeKnight said this version of Punisher would be "completely the Marvel version," as previous portrayals did not appear under the Marvel Studios / Marvel Television banner.5 However, Bernthal did study all the previous portrayals, saying, "once you devour and eat up as much as you can, my way is to make it as personal as possible". On how Castle resonates with him, Bernthal said, "He ain't got a ****ing cape. He ain't got any superpowers. He's a ****ing tortured, angry father and husband who's living in this unbelievable world of darkness and loss and torment."6 Bernthal added that there would be "a military component" in the series since Castle is "a soldier... series will be somewhat centered on that".7 He also stated that "the character that was portrayed on Daredevil season two was sort of the origin tale of how this guy became the Punisher, why he put on the vest."8 Bernthal noted he "always wanted to preserve the essence of" Castle, who Bernthal described as "brutal", "damaged" and "tortured", by exploring "the pain and what's behind the violence and the reason why he's committing the violence" that is "utterly satisfying and addictive for him".9 * Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman / Micro: A former NSA analyst who assists Castle after faking his death.1011 Regarding Micro's relationship with Castle, Moss-Bachrach said, "We have found ourselves with common enemies and it's a marriage of convenience." Moss-Bachrach also felt the comics version of the character was "a one-trick pony", supplying equipment to Castle, but that the character gets "interesting when their relationship gets bad" and hoped to explore that in the series.8 * Ben Barnes as Billy Russo / Jigsaw: Castle's former best friend from when they served in USMC Force Recon together. Russo runs Anvil, a private military corporation.1210 * Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani: An Iranian-American U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent stationed in Afghanistan, who returns to New York City for an investigation that leads her to cross paths with Castle.1013 Revah noted that Madani "sees herself as American – that's what her being is, that's what she wants to protect, that's why she does what she does." As Madani is not based on a character from the comics, Revah's "research was based more on Homeland and what it's like for those people, and the logical processes the character would be going through. I think, for a lot of actors, if you're playing someone from comics, you probably feel you have some sort of responsibility to represent this character in a light that reflects how they were represented in the comic books. Because I didn't have that, it probably let me be more open in my representation." Revah spoke with actual Homeland officers as well as Iranian people "to make that of the character authentic." A special shotgun was made for Revah to use, designed for her stature.13 * Daniel Webber as Lewis Wilson: A young veteran struggling with his new life as a taxi driver. He attends group therapy sessions with other servicemen under Curtis Hoyle.1415 Webber felt his character was "a mirror to Frank’s journey. These characters really look at each other and they both go separate routes."16 * Paul Schulze as William Rawlins/Agent Orange: The Director of Covert Operations at the CIA, who crosses paths with Castle due to their time in Afghanistan.14 * Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle: A friend of Castle, one of the few people who knows he is alive and former US Navy Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman, who became the leader of a therapy group after losing the lower part of his left leg in combat.14 * Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein: A U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent and Madani's partner.14 * Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman: David's wife.14 * Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page: A reporter at the New York Bulletin and Matt Murdock's former assistant, who befriended Castle after working on his case. Woll reprises her role from previous Marvel Netflix series.1718 Regarding Page's continuing relationship with Castle, Woll said, "Frank has a soft spot in Karen's heart, and certainly with the dark history that Karen has, there are very few people she can share her authentic self with. Frank is someone who she could potentially fully open up to."7 She added, "there's something about Frank where Karen doesn't have to be ashamed of her darkest, deepest side of herself. She gets to be more honest with him".8 * Josh Stewart as John Pilgrim/The Mennonite: A man who portrays a calm exterior with a ruthless interior, that is forced to use his violent skills again after leaving his previous life behind.19 Stewart described him as an alt-right, Christian fundamentalist.20 * Floriana Lima as Krista Dumont: A psychotherapist for military veterans,19 who works with Billy Russo. She is "very covered up" and "very uptight" in her personal life and "doesn’t want to let anyone into her personal world," according to season two costume designer Lorraine Calvert.20 * Giorgia Whigham as Amy Bendix: A drifter with a mysterious past.19 She is a teenager who dislikes using profanity and is on the run from Pilgrim's men which leads to her eventually crossing paths with Castle.20 Recurring Introduced in season 1 * Shohreh Aghdashloo as Farah Madani: Dinah's mother who runs a successful psychiatric practice.2122 * Jordan Mahome as Isaac Lange: A military veteran who attends Hoyle's support groups. * Kelli Barrett as Maria Castle: Castle's deceased wife.23 * Aidan Pierce Brennan as Frank Castle Jr.: Castle's deceased son.16 * Nicolette Pierini as Lisa Castle: Castle's deceased daughter. * Ripley Sobo as Leo Lieberman: David and Sarah's daughter.23 * Kobi Frumer as Zach Lieberman: David and Sarah's son.23 * Tony Plana as Rafael "Rafi" Hernandez: The director of operations for Homeland Security and Madani's mentor.24 * Royce Johnson as Brett Mahoney: A Detective-Sergeant at the NYPD's 15th Precinct. Johnson reprises his role from previous Marvel Netflix series. Introduced in season 2 * Corbin Bernsen as Anderson Schultz: The co-leader of Testament Industries who hires John Pilgrim for his own nefarious purposes. * Annette O'Toole as Eliza Schultz: The co-leader of Testament Industries who hires John Pilgrim for her own nefarious purposes. * Jordan Dean as Jake Nelson: A fellow veteran who befriends and teams up with Billy Russo, but suffers from drug addiction. * Samuel Gomez as José: A fellow veteran who is part of Billy Russo's crew. * Jimi Stanton as Tod: A fellow veteran who is part of Billy Russo's crew. * Brett Bartholomew as Phillip: A fellow veteran who is part of Billy Russo's crew. Guest Introduced in season 1 * C. Thomas Howell as Carson Wolf: A corrupt senior DHS agent, supervisor of "Operation Cerberus," and Madani's supervisor who crosses paths with Micro and then later Castle.25 Wolf is revealed to be corrupt, working for Rawlins, who had Wolf frame Micro for being a traitor, and seemingly killed Micro, though Micro had survived the attempt on his life. Wolf is captured and interrogated by Frank, before being killed after attempting to kill Frank. * Delaney Williams as O'Connor: A phony Vietnam veteran and NRA member who attends Hoyle's support groups. O’Connor is killed by Wilson for faking his military service. * Geoffrey Cantor as Mitchell Ellison: The editor-in-chief of the New York Bulletin and Page's boss. Cantor reprises his role from Daredevil.25 * Shez Sardar as Ahmad Zubair: An Afghan policeman who worked with Madani. * Jeb Kreager as Gunner Henderson: A Marine Corps veteran and member of the Cerberus Squad that worked alongside Castle and later went reclusive upon returning home. Gunner later reunited with Castle and helps him kill multiple Anvil agents sent to kill Gunner; Gunner is shot in the abdomen by one and bleeds to death. * Clancy Brown as Ray Schoonover: Castle's commanding officer in Afghanistan. Brown reprises his role from Daredevil.25 * Tim Guinee as Clay Wilson: Lewis Wilson's father who works to help his son get adjusted to his civilian life. * Rob Morgan as Turk Barrett: A low-level criminal who operates in Hell's Kitchen and Harlem. Morgan reprises his role from previous Marvel Netflix shows.26 * Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Marion James: A Deputy Director of the CIA.24 * Andrew Polk as Morty Bennett: A colonel who was a member of Cerberus Squad and worked under Rawlins. Morty is killed by Russo after being used as bait for Castle. * Rick Holmes as Stan Ori: A U.S. Senator who is interviewed by Karen Page on his gun control views. * Houshang Touzie as Hamid Madani: Dinah's father who is a doctor. NY1 anchors Pat Kiernan, Roma Torre, and Stacy-Ann Gooden cameo as themselves. Introduced in season 2 * Alexa Davalos as Beth Quinn: A single mother in Ecorse, Michigan who runs Lola's Roadhouse and briefly takes an interest in Castle. * Jagger Nelson as Rex Quinn: Beth's son who takes a liking to Castle. * Avery Mason as Ringo: A bouncer and bodyguard who works at Lola's Roadhouse. * Teri Reeves as Marlena Olin: A tough mercenary who works for Pilgrim. * Alex Notkin as Sergei Konchevsky: An ally to Amy who gets tortured by Pilgrim. * Joe Holt as Sheriff Roy Hardin: A tough and disciplined sheriff in Larkville, Ohio who aids Castle. * Brandon Gill as Deputy Ken Ogden: One of Hardin's deputies and Bruce's brother. * Jamie Romero as Deputy Murphy: One of Hardin's deputies. * Rudy Eisenzopf as Deputy Dobbs: One of Hardin's deputies. * Donald Webber Jr. as Bruce Ogden: An inmate at Larkville County Sheriff Station and Ken's brother. * Ilia Volok as Kazan: A Russian gang member. * Keith Jardine as a Russian thug under Kazan's employ. * Allie McCulloch as Rebecca Pilgrim: Pilgrim's loving and sick wife. * Zell Steele Morrow as Michael Pilgrim: Pilgrim's son. * Henry Boshart as Lemuel Pilgrim: Pilgrim's son. * Thomas G. Waites as Arthur Walsh: A foster parent who abused Russo as a child. * Charles Brice as Bobby: A fellow veteran who is part of Billy Russo's crew. * Brett Diggs as Anton: A fellow veteran who is part of Billy Russo's crew. * Dikran Tulaine as Nikolai Poloznev: A Russian businessman and gangster. * Todd Alan Crain as David Schultz: A senator and the Schultz's gay son. * Kevin Chapman as Kusack: An old acquaintance of Pilgrim who is a white supremacist. * Joseph D. Reitman as "Creepy" Ed Zatner: A mortician and ally of Karen Page with a strange obsession with women's shoes. Episodes Main article: The Punisher (Episode Guide) Seasons * Season 1 (2017) * Season 2 (2019) Gallery Trivia Category:Marvel Category:Marvel Cinematic Universe Category:2017